RealNetworks CEO Rob Glaser wants consumers to start making digital copies of their DVD collections on their computers in much the same way they already do with CDs – whether Hollywood wants them to or not.

The Seattle-based digital entertainment services company today is expected to announce a new software product called RealDVD that promises to do just that. It is due to be available at the end of the month.

The application, largely aimed at travelers who like to watch DVDs on their laptop, costs $49.99, and is designed to back up digital copies on PCs or portable hard drives.

The move promises to set off a fresh debate in both entertainment and technology circles over how much fair-use control consumers should have over movies they purchase.

Unlike in the music industry, where CDs are manufactured without copy protection software, the film studios have long insisted that DVDs have encryption technology embedded on them to prevent unauthorized duplication.

As a result, Hollywood has been far more immune than the music business to the digitization of its product – a reality that’s allowed it to retain greater control over where and when consumers can watch movies.

But with portable video gadgets and networked homes proliferating – and DVD sales softening – consumer demand is growing for greater flexibility with what they can do with video.

Some studios led by 20th Century Fox have begun distributing DVDs embedded with sanctioned digital copies for playback on iPods and computers, in an effort to head off a rise in unauthorized copying.

RealNetworks is expected to work around the issue by claiming that its software does not remove the encryption on the DVD.

Movies “ripped” using RealDVD, which can take up to 40 minutes to transfer, remain locked on the hard drive to which they are transferred and cannot be copied, burned to another disk, transferred to another device or distributed online. Movies ripped to portable hard drives can be played back on up to five computers.